Blank and method for making hollow wrought metal articles



ug- 6, 1940' B. WENDEL 2.210.437

BLANK AND METHOD FOR MAKING HOLLOW WROUGHT METAL ARTICLES Filed April 6,1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTO Cg/M 4 004;

flwll. w fi v I? F/ 7 44', ATTQRZZ/Q F. B. WENDEL Aug. 6, 1940.

BLANK METHOD FOR MAKING HOLLOW WROUGHT METAL ARTICLES Filed April 6,1957 ,3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y lNVENTR.

,Pei iiied Aug. 6, 1940 PATENT OFFICE BLANK AND METHOD FOR MAKING HOILOWWROUGHT METAL ARTICLES Frans B. Wendel, Long Island City, N. Y.,- ar

signor, by direct and mesne assignments, to

W. S. 'A., Incorp6rated, New York, N. Y., a; corporation of New YorkApplication April 6,1937, Serial No. 135,269

I 4 Claims. (Cl. 29-157) .I'he present invention relates to hollowarticles of wrought metal. More particularly it relates to branchedfittings having a plurality ,of angularly related branches, especially Tfittings ior pipe and like connections. Still more particularly theinvention relates to so-called reduction fittings, that is, fittingshaving angularly related branches .of difierent diameter adapted to besecured to and join pipes of different size.

Integral wrought metal fittings, as heretofore produced by the --methodhereinafter explained. when such fittings have been; of the reductiontyp have been made by first forming the fittings with branches ofsubstantially the same diameter i and after the fittings have beenformed the desired reduction in diameter or one or more of the brancheshas been made by subsequent reducing operations, such as swaging or thelike.

This method oi manufacture is relatively ex pensive, the reductionfittings "produced by such methods costing several times as much as T'sof, the same basic size and having branches of or branches which areeventually to be of larger diameter than another branch or branches,being first formed so as to-have a non-circular crosssection which isthereafter shaped to circular or other desired final. cross-sectionhaving a-minimum diameter substantially greater than the minimumdiameter of such branch as first formed a The branches which in thefinished fitting are 'to be oi larger diameter advantageously are formedwith generally oval or elliptical crosssectiom with the minor diameterequal to or substantially q t to the diameter of the shell from whichthe semi-finished blank is formed. The semi-finished blank'is thenapertured- .at the ends of the formed branchesand thereafter worked bymeans of suitable die or mandrel apparatus to\ make the apertured.branches into branches of desired cross-section having-a minimumdiameter greater than the diameter of the the shell shown in Fig. 12;

For a more complete description of the invention and 01' the detailsthereoff'referenee may rest be hadto the ensuing portion of thisdescription in which I will describe preferred I method andmeans formanufacturing a' reduc- 5 tion T fitting in accordance with theinvention, a it being understood however that such description iswithout limitation with respect to general use of the invention, whichmay be applied to other specific shapes of fittings.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification: Y

Fig. 1 is aside elevation, partly in section, of die forming apparatusand a shell blank used in carrying the invention into eiiect; 15

Fig. 2 is a transverse central section of the pair of die blocks, one ofwhich is shown in Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing'the shellblank after a iormi'ng operation; v

Fig. 4 is a view similar .to Fig. 3 showing the shell blank alter afurther forming'operation;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the semi-finished blank shown in Fig. 4with the end waus'cr the blank removed;

Fig. 6 isan end elevation of die and mandrel apparatus for furtherforming the blank shown inFig.5;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 1-1 of risi Fig. 8-is asection-showing the dies and man- .drel illustrated in Fig. 6, with thedies closed;

Figs. 9 to 11,- inclusive, are views similar to Figs. 6 to 8respectively showingdiflerent die apparatus for further shaping theblank shown 'inFig.6;

4 Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a completelyformed T produced inaccordance with the inven'tion; and Fig. 15 is a view showing dieapparatus for belling the ends of the 1 shown in Flg. 14.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates oneof a pair of die blocks, lland l2 shownin Fig. 2. Each 0! these die.blocks is semi-circularly recessed at M and it respectively to providea cylindrical bore I I. This bore intersects the transverseboreformed bysemi-oval'recesses 22 and 24 in the respective dieblocks. In the term ofapparatus shown in the shell.

' method of forminga semi-finished T blank by the aid of the abovedescribed dies, but it is to be understood that other specific steps andmeans may, within the scope of the present invention, be employed toeflect the forming of themetal to the interior contour of the dies.

'A cylindrical shell blank 26 having a hemispherical closed bottom 28;and open at the top isinserted in the dies, which are held together in asuitable press, and a filler'of liquid is introduced into the shell. Apunch "having a shoul-' der 32 is forced downwardly into the die boreI8,

the shoulder'seating ag'ain'st the upper end of A passage 34 in thepunch permits excess liquid to flow from the shell prior to the seatingof the shoulder 32'." When the shoulder seats, the shell is filled-withliquid which is trapped therein. As the punch descends, the mechanicalend pressure on the shell combined with the internal pressure exerted bythe trapped filler bulges the unsupported portions ,of the metal of theshell outwardly in lateral direction,

' as indicated in Fig. 3. Irforder tq torcethe metal the T.

-.into uniform and complete contact with the in-- ner surfaces ofthe dierecesses, a plurality of punch operations maybe required, the numberdepending upon the length desired for the run of After the final blankforming operatiohis'c'an rled out, the blank hasthe form shown in Fig.4,

,the run portion 36 of the T, formed by the laterally bulged branches 38and 40, being generally oval in cross section and the neck or outlet 42being cylindrical. After the blank isthus formed, the branches 38 and"are apertured.

preferably by cutting off the end walls and 46 by sawing to form asemi-finished blank of v the kind shown in Fig. 5.,

As will be evident from Fig. 5, all that is required to make a reductionfitting of the desired character from the semi-finished blank shown inthe figure is to work the run portion of the T to the desired I finalcross-sectional shape, which in the ease of the, usual pipe fitting iscylindrical.

rhiemey be accomplished by forcing a suitably L-shaped mandrelthroughthe runof the -T or I by a pressing operation in suitable dies.

One suitable form of die apparatus is shown in Figs. 6 to 8 andcomprises die blocks 50 and .l! having cooperating semi-cylindricalrecesses II .and 56. The die block 52 is provided with a suitablerecess. for the reception of the neck 42 of the blank, and the neck, maybe advan tageously supported internally by a plug'or the like I. Plugmay be loose orsuitably pinned asst". For internally guiding the'run ofthe T'dur ing the pressing operation in these dies, a collapsiblemandrel may be' employed comprising top and bottom shoes and a and sideshoes as and II.-. '}'Ihese shoesare connected by'pivoted j links 12,pivoted on the longitudinally extending pins: I4, the-shoes beingsuitably recessed to receive theselinks when the mandrelis 001-.

. is not required in order to bringthe blank to the In some instancesitmay be desirable to curve asthe inventionis concerned, the primarycharlapsed so as to be insertabie in the blank as indicated in Fig. 6. j

The pressing operation for shaping the run of the T to cylindricalsection will be largely obvious from the drawings. When the dies 50 and52 are moved together from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the positionshown in Fig. 8, the spreading action of the mandrel causes the sideshoes 68 and III to bear against the side walls of. the T. and insurethe outward bulging of these-walls into contact with the die walls. As

will be noted in Fig. 8, the length of the links 12 is ,such that whenthe dies close, there is some clearance between the side shoes 68 and I0and the metal of the blank. Some clearance obvidrel from the blank afterthe pressing operation, and it will be evident that as the dies comeinto ,closed position, internal pressure from the shoes desired shape inthe dies.

In connection with this operation it is to be noted that thesemi-finished blank is afdvantageously formed, as shown in Fig. 5, withthe curved portion of the laterally extending bulges adjacent the neck42 and indicated at 16, curved on a largerradius than-the curved portion18 at the bottom of the run. Advantageously, the portion -16 is curvedto the same radius as. that of the finished run portion of the' T whilethe bottom portion I 8 of the run portion is advantageously curved tothe same radius as that of the bottom of the shell. These radii need notnecessarily be employed but it will be evident from Figs. 6 and 8 thatwith the portion Ii curved as indicated, the blank shownin Fig. 5 can beformed so that the subsequent spreading operation does not necessitateany appreciable change in the contour of I the walls of the T at theplace of juncture of the run with the outlet. f r

In some instances when the run is finished to final form by means ofpressing dies, the use of an internal mandrel may not be required due tothe-natural tendency of the side walls to bulge outwardly when subjectedto compression by the dies, and Figs. 9 to 11 illustrate suitable dieapparatus-for use without'an internal mandrel. In this form of theapparatus the die blocks 50a and 52a are generally similar to thoseshown in Fig. 6. but in this instance as a precautionary measure theplug a providing internal support for the neck of the blank isadvantageously extended'upwardly as indicated at 601) to insure againstany possibility ofthe side walls of the blank buckling inwardly as thedies are brought together. 'From thenature of the curved s n,- faces ofthe dies and the blank as indicated in Fig. 10, it will be evident thatthe natural tendency of the side walls is to spread outwardly.

the sidewalls of the die recesses slightly outw -to increase thedimensions: (Fig. 2) 'at the center line ofthe run to facilitate thenatural tendency of the side walls to bulge outwardly when compressedbetween the forming dies.

It will be appreciated that the exact cross. 1

section of the run portion of the semi-finished *blank may be yariedwithin the scope of the invention and it will be appreciated that inso-far acteristicof the blank forming'operation or operations is toproduce a laterally bulged branch or branches haying cross-sectionalareas larger than the cross-sectional area of-theshell and across-sectional dimension parallel to 7 ously is required in order towithdraw the manthe axis of the shell substantially greater than quirewall thickness greater than necessary or .desirable for branch orbranches of smaller diameter. v Such fittingsmay very advantageously bemade in accordance with the present invention and in Figs. 12 and 13'there is illustrated the method by means of which this may beaccomplished.

In this instance shell 26 is formed with walls the thickness of whichvaries along the length of the shell. Preferably, the portion of. theshell denoted by dimension a is formed-with walls of uniform thicknesswhich are relatively thin, while the walls of the portion denoted by bare tapered to produce gradually increasing wall thickness toward thebottom of the shell. The degree of thickening of the tapered portion ofthe wall will depend upon the difierence in thickness between the runportion and the neck desired in the finished T. with such form of shellthe portion of the punch below the shoulder 32 is advantageously shapedto conform to the shape of the inner surface of the shell and theforming operations for producing the semi-finished blank are A the sameas those previously described. Due to be secured. Suchg'bulging mayadvantageously at 82 in Fig. 15, the bulged ends of the branches thenature of the stresses imposed on the metal by the forming operations,and 'thetendency of' the metal to compress where it flows around therounded corners 80 of the die blocks" and H, the taperedportion of theshell will be worked toprovide a-run portion for the T of substantiallyuniform wall thickness, which wall thickness will be greater than thewall thickness of .theneck. It will be appreciated that the relativelengths of the dimensions a' and b shown in Fig. 12 will be determinedby the relative length of the neck and run portions -of the finished 1'to be formed therefrom, the-point-v on the shell where the tapered wallportion commences. preferably being approximately at the place ofjuncture of 1 the neck and run portions in the finished T.

After the forming operation described in conjunction with Figs. 6 toll'has been performed, the T has the shape shown'inl ig. 14. This shapeobviously constitutes a complete T and in so far as the presentinvention is concerned may be considered as a finished 1'. A Thecomplete or finished 1' may, of. course. be modified by furthertreatment to make it suitable for diiferent modes of attachment. If theT is intended to.

be used as a welded fitting the T requiresno further treatment otherthan suitable beveling of the open ends of'the branches if such ends arebulging of the shell into the die blocks to form a semi-finished blank,forms per so no part of the present invention but constitutes thesubject matter of application Serial No. 42,624, filed 'jointly by meand Thomas H. Pearsall.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that many changes andvariations in the method and apparatus hereinbefore described by way ofexample may be made without departing from the principles of theinvention, and certain features hereinbefore described may, within thescope of the invention, be used to the exclusion of others.

The-scope of the'invention is understood to embrace all that mayfallwithin the purview of the appended claims when they are construed asbroadly as is consistent with the state of the prior art.

What I claim is: 1'. The method of forming an integral wrought metalreduction T; by the aid of a punch having a pilot portion and acircumferential shoulder,

at the end of saidpilot portion and a cooperating diehaving a T-shapedrecess including a run portion of generally oval crossesection and abranch portion extending laterally from said run portion, said branchportion having substantially the diameter of the branch portion of. the

IT to be made and said run portion having amajor diameter substantiallyin line with the axis of said,branch portion and -of materially greaterlength than the diameter-of said branch portion and a minor diameternormal to the major diameter and of substantially the same length as thediameter of said branch portion; which consists in placing a shell blankhaving a closed end and having substantiallythe diameter of said outletbranch in the die with the of introducing liquid filler into the shell,moving said punch inwardly of the die with the pilot portion of thepunch within the open end of the shell to seat said shoulderagainst theend'wall of-the open end ofthe shell to effect a liquidtight seal and totrap the liquid in the shell and continuing the movement of the punchafter such seating to form'the shell inwardly of the die by mechanicalend pressure, whereby to bulge the shelliby the combined action of ,themechanical 7 end pressure and the trapped liquid, aperturing the closedends of said run portion and thereafter working-the runportion from thecross-- desiredfor welding purposes: if desired, the.

ends of the branches may be treated in the usual mann for a threadedfitting, and if a fitting or the so-called sweat joint type i desired,the

ends at the several branches may be. bulged to receive the ends of thepipe to which tired is to be effected in known manner by means ofsuitably recessed die blocks, one, of which is shown being formed withinthe die blocks by means 'of the shouldered punches I. X l

sectional shape formed by the bulging operation or operations to asubstantially circular crosssection of larger diameter than that oi saidbranch portion.

- metal reduction 1; by the aid-of a punch having a pilot portion and acircumferential. shoulder at the end of said'pilot portion and acooperating die having a T-shaped recess including a run portion ofgenerally oval-cross-section and a branch portion e ending laterallyfrom said run portion, s branch portion having 'substantially thediameter of the branch portion of theT to be made and said run portion ihaving a major diameter substantially in line with the axis of saidbranch portion and of mathe closed end '01 the shell at the juncture ofthe run and branch portions of the die recess, the closed 'endportion'of said blank and the cylindrical portion thereof adjacent tothe closed end having appreciably greater 'wal thickness than thecylindrical portion of the bl nk adjacent to the open end thereof,bulging theclosed end portion ot the shell laterally in oppositedirections to form a T-shaped blank having a closed ended run portion 0!cross-sectional contour corresponding to the cross-section of the runportion of the die recess, and wall thickness greater than thatoi' .thebranch portion of'the blank; byone or more bulging operations eachincluding the steps r introducing liquid filler into the shell, movingsaid punch inwardlypt the die with the pilot portion of the punch withinthe open end of the shell to seat'said shoulder against the end .wall ofthe open end of the shell to eiiect a liquid tight seal and to trap theliquid in the shell and continuing the movement of the punch aiter; suchseating to form the shell inwardly of the die by mechanical endpressure,

whereby to bulge the shell by the combined actionoi the mechanical endpressure and the trapped liquidaperturing the closed ends of said runportion and'thereatter working the run portion from the cross-sectionalshape formed by the bulging operation or operations 'to'a sub stantiallycircular cross-section of larger diam,- eter than thatoi said branchportion.

3. A semi-flnishgd blank adapted to be formed intoa reduction'T; saidblank consisting of an integral seamless hollow T-shaped body of wroughtmetal having a closed ended run portion and abranch portion extendinglaterally tion and having a major diameter in line with,

l the axis of the branch portion and substantially longer than thediameter of the branch portion and a minor diameter normal to the majordiameter and of substantially the same length as the diameter of thebranch portion; whereby said run portion hasa perimeter substantiallygreater than the perimeter of the branchportion and is adapted ;to beshaped to circular cross-section of larger diamet'r than that of thebranch portion subsequent to aperturing the closed ends of the'blank.

4. A semi-finished blank adapted to be formed into a reduction T, saidblank consisting of an integral seamless hollow fT-shaped .body ofwrought metal having a closed ended run portion and a branch portionextending laterallythere- .Irom intermediate its ends, said runportionbeing 0! generally oval shape in croa-section and having a,inajordiameter'in line with the axis of the branch portion andsubstantially longer than the diameter of the branch portion and a minordiameter normal to the major diameteradapted to be shaped to circularcross-section of larger diameter than that of the branch portionsubsequent 'to,'apertm'ing the closed ends of the mans B, WENDE'L.

